On 24th June METRO & LSF incorporated the British Blind Sport’s national athletics championships into its 30th anniversary championships. It is an amazing achievement and a tribute to Metro that the event is still running after 30 years.
We were blessed with fantastic weather, the sun shone on us all day long. The event attracted over 100 athletes, which is a big increase on recent years. It was great to see so many junior athletes from all over the United Kingdom. As usual we were very grateful for the support shown to the event by Irish Blind Sport.
The Championships were opened, by Paralympic champion, Noel Thatcher, who helped co-ordinate the Paul Pearce 5000m memorial race. 21 athletes took part in the race; which was a great tribute to Paul. All of the entry fees for this race are going to be donated to the Paul Pearce memorial fund.
There were three trophies awarded for best performances on the day. The men’s award went to Lewis Ely with a jump of 1.85 metres in the high jump. The female athlete award went to Andrea Thomas for her overall performance in the women’s field events. The junior athlete award went to Thomas Macmillan for his victories in the under 14 100m, 800m and long jump.
It was so encouraging to see so many junior athletes taking part I really do believe that we have, potentially, a group of talented junior athletes that we can develop through the BBS athletics squad training programme. We had junior athletes from Scotland, Irish Blind Sport, Wales, RNC, Queen Alexandra College, Coventry & London. The feedback that we received from parents and teachers was very encouraging and supportive.
We would like to thank the many officials, guide runners & host of helpers who made the day run smoothly. We would also like to place on record our thanks to Roger Ferrington from Waltham Forest Sports Development Unit who really made the day happen for us.
Here’s to another 30 years of athletics, I wonder if I will still be running in the 100metres vets when I’m 78!! Now there’s a thought……
See you all at next year’s championships on 23rd June at Waltham Forest track.
Alan Whetherly
London Sports Forum for Disabled People
If you would like a copy of the results please contact me at London Sports Forum or email me alan@londonsportsdforum.org.uk or download here.
Prague , Czech Republic 17th-19th June 2004
GBR Results
The Great Britain Youth Team exceeded all expectations at the World Championships. Thirteen countries were represented and over 120 athletes took part. Nine first, six second and three third places over two days of competition is a just reward for the athletes’ individual sponsor NBCS and kit suppliers Brooks. The high standard of competition ensured that there were a great number of personal bests as well as a good haul of medals. As is usual for youth teams competing abroad there was good support from parents taking a holiday to watch the games. There are many photographs which will be in a display folder, available to view at the National Senior and Junior Championships at Nuneaton on 2 nd October 2004.
During medical sight classification, IBSA appointed ophthalmologists reclassified Alison Patrick as B2 (from B3) and Iain Brown as Open (from B3). This meant that Iain could only compete as a guest in the competition and his performances are not included in results.
| Under 15 60m | ||||
| Elisabeth Clegg | B2 | 3 rd | 9.07 | pb |
| Katherine Deal | B3 | 1 st | 9.29 | pb |
| Pamela McInnes | B3 | 2 nd | 9.43 | pb |
| Under 19 200m | ||||
| Lora Turnham | B1 | 2 nd | 33.89 | pb |
| Matthew Cliff | B2 | 2 nd | 24.81 | pb |
| Emma Wood | B2 | 4 th | 40.97 | pb |
| Elisabeth Clegg | B2 | 2 nd | 30.17 | pb |
| Under 15 300m | ||||
| Katherine Deal | B3 | 1 st | 48.36 | pb |
| Under 19 400m | ||||
| Lora Turnham | B1 | 4 th | 76.99 | pb |
| Alison Patrick | B2 | 2 nd | 64.16 | pb |
| Matthew Cliff | B2 | 1 st | 55.38 | pb |
| Colin Clarke | B3 | 4 th | 60.86 | Pb |
| Under 15 600m | ||||
| Katherine Deal | B3 | 1 st | 1.52.08 | Pb |
| Elisabeth Clegg | B2 | 1 st | 2.03.40 | Pb |
| Pamela McInnes | B3 | 2 nd | 2.11.73 | Pb |
| Under 19 800m | ||||
| Lora Turnham | B1 | 1 st | 2.51.70 | Pb |
| Alison Patrick | B2 | 1 st | 2.39.87 | |
| Under 15 Long Jump U19 | ||||
| Elisabeth Clegg | B2 | 3 rd | 3.65 | |
| Pamela McInnes | B3 | 3 rd | 3.5 | Pb |
| Katherine Deal | B3 | 4 th | 3.05 | Pb |
| Shot Putt | ||||
| Alison Patrick | B2 | 4 th | 6 | |
| Emma Wood | B2 | 7 th | 4.81 | |
| Discus | ||||
| Emma Wood | B2 | 1 st | 16.58 | Pb |
| Javelin | ||||
| Emma Wood | B2 | 1 st | 12.32 | pb |
Heat times not shown as all qualified for finals. Final performances were superior in all cases.
Many congratulations to every team member and the coaches, parents and teachers who have helped along the way.
Sincere thanks to NBCS and Brooks for supporting the team.
